He sent out the invitations, and they all met at a bar and had a great time. He hosted this event until he sold his business. I like to imagine that they not only learned “business stuff” from each other, and indirectly improved each others’ businesses, but also got to deepen the relationship beyond rivalry. At the very least, it made them feel less lonely as entrepreneurs. While they may not have been best friends, they were peers in the same game.

What I took away was to connect with entrepreneurs that I considered my competition. There was plenty to learn and share. Who knows how our paths will cross in the future?

I leaned into this inclination the other day, booked some time with another independent business writer, and learned some lessons that saved a lot of time. Plus, it sounded like he was taking the business in a different direction, which meant he might not be a competitor very soon.

In dire straits, even a company as secretive as Apple needed its long-standing and main competitor at the time, Microsoft, to fund it in order to keep it in business. And, I would guess, it was useful for Microsoft to have a competitor so the government didn’t break it up for being a monopoly. Microsoft invested $150 million and exited for $500 million a few years later, although its shares were estimated to be worth over $100 billion in 2020.

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Would you be able to get along with your day, albeit with less efficiency? 

Or would you be completely in the dark, and need to learn all of the skills you’d outsourced? What habits and practices can you depend on to create and deliver value?

What technical skills and exercises do you have to generate your own creative ideas? 

At the extreme of enfeeblement, you get the people in WALL-E, whose lifestyles have made it so they’re not able to walk on their own two feet.

If you depend on having AI double check everything, or come up with ideas for you, that’s what you’re setting yourself up for. You need to be able to work without it, just in case, the same way you need to be able to do simple math in case you can’t use a calculator (or aren’t in a situation where it’s appropriate).

The ideas of independence and sovereignty are the opposite of enfeeblement.

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There’s a theory that the more you talk about your goal with other people, the more your brain feels like it’s achieved it already. Your ego feels good, which actually drains it of motivation. Another way to say it is this: if you don’t talk about your goals, your ego—hungry for recognition—will push you towards completing it so that it can brag. 

At the same time, if you talk about your goals, other people can offer you support and contribute to its success. They can provide you with valuable information, connections, or just personal energy to help move you towards your goals. You can improve your plans, quickly course correct, or quit and move on to a better project. 

If you feel like you’re drained of energy, talk to fewer people and get back in the lab. Focus on completing tasks that will move your project forward. Simplify and scope your project down so you can complete it as soon as possible.

If you feel confused about your plan, show your progress to more people to get a feel for how they’re responding. People will offer support in all sorts of ways—enthusiasm, expertise, or an actual cash exchange. You can use this support to make adjustments and address your own blind spots. All of these things can help you move towards your goal.

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My co-founder (also my life partner!) and I have been working on it for the past seven months, and I’m really excited to share it with you.

I explained why I created it at LinkedIn. Here’s an excerpt: 

Four years ago, I was struggling to finish editing my book Creative Doing because I was running out of creative energy. 

I committed to writing a blog post every day for 100 days as a solution. It wasn’t the first time I tried it, but it was the first time I focused on the process instead of the results. I found it so fulfilling that I didn’t stop, and I’m over 1,500 days in now. That practice taught me that consistency isn’t about perfection. It’s about showing up enough times that the missed days and goals stop mattering.

While a lot of high performers are crushing it at work, they’re struggling with consistency outside of it. I’ve experienced this myself, and I know my friends struggle with it too. We want to do a fitness routine, and it doesn’t stick. We keep pushing off that creative project. We don’t connect with the friends and family we keep meaning to call. 

It’s not that you and I don’t have discipline. It’s a system-level problem.

We’re conditioned to worship the perfect streak. But perfectionism is what kills consistency. We treat a disappointment, or a miss, or an interruption, as a failure instead of part of the practice.

So I built something different.

The Consistency Journal guides you through 100 days of mindful practice. That could mean moving your body, working on a creative project, or showing up for the people who matter. Or anything else, really.

It encourages you to reflect on what you learned, what went well, and how you’ll set yourself up for tomorrow. You can also use it to track your experiences.

Most importantly: when you miss a day, there’s space to write about why. Instead of saying mean things to yourself, you have the space to learn from it. What actually caused you to skip the day? How can you set yourself up for tomorrow? The miss isn’t the failure, it’s a lesson.

The Consistency Journal is analog. It’s for you to get consistent without your phone becoming another distraction.

Since I started sharing this project, I’ve heard from friends who want to use it to quit smoking, do a fitness thing every day, or try a practice with their partner. One friend, after 100 days of writing, reflected, “I feel like a real writer now.”

That’s what 100 days can do. It’s about showing up enough times that the practice becomes part of who you are.

The Consistency Journal is available for pre-order now. It’s expected to ship out at the end of June.

If you’ve been meaning to start something (or start again!), this is your 100 days to make it happen.

P.S. The Consistency Journal is the first product from Wholesome Parts, a new project I’m building to help you find meaning in modern life through analog tools and practices that feel natural to you. More to come!

I also wrote the first article at the website, about how to be more consistent. I’ve worked full-time at Figma and FGX from 2023 to 2025, so it’s been really energizing getting back into a more entrepreneurial practice. As you can imagine, it’s also been quite a transition.

Now that it’s finally live, I’m excited to pull the curtain back on this more.

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• Points for pointedness: Pointed questions are very useful, and you need to make an effort to find them. Experts ask diagnostic questions.
• “Don’t do that”: I came across a post, “Shooting down ideas is not a skill,” which this reminds me of. Learn from somebody else’s guidance. Don’t let it discourage or stop you.
• Two ideas to stand out when you’re applying to jobs: I have been connecting with a lot of people for business, so this is actually extremely useful in this season of life. 
• Pounding the pavement: Same as the above! It reminds me of what I wrote about DJ Khaled.
• The courage to tell (yourself) a new story: Stories are a way of creating a new condition. I am struggling with a few stories now, and working through them. It’s useful to remember this is an ongoing effort, it’s like tuning a guitar. 

One of the most rewarding things about writing this blog is reading it.

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Nonsense shows up as a decision that doesn’t make sense, vague instructions, or a belief that conflicts with real-world evidence.

When you hear nonsense, the best thing you can do is to recognize it for what it is. 

Then, shrug it off. That person can add value in all sorts of other ways to your life; let them do that. They just happened to say some nonsense. If you feel compelled to speak up, you can let them know you don’t agree, and move on. The next time you say nonsense, you can appreciate people extending you the same grace.

If you trust someone’s character, you don’t need to hear them say, “I didn’t mean that!” to know it.

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There’s a link to do this at the bottom of every post. If you’re using a browser, you can also type herbertlui.net/random

Happy reading!

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My good friend Keane had this phrase tattooed on his ribs. As I understood, it was a reminder to himself of how easy it could be to slip into an instinctive thought or behavior that he grew up with. 

It also was a sign of his commitment that he wanted to do better, to change his second nature and align it with his destination.

It resonates with me as I find myself dealing with my own second nature. I’m in my mid-30s now, and the stories, habits, and instincts that I grew with aren’t as useful as they used to be. In fact, some of them take me further away from my goals. The struggle continues.

I try to be mindful of how to nurture my own second nature; to feed the right wolf. It’s an ongoing effort to work through decades of conditioning. It’s one of the most challenging practices I’ve ever taken on. I’m seeing results, and I’m still far from where I want to be.

Keane passed away eight years ago. Another good friend, Faiz, passed away this week. I miss them both a lot.

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When you believe in a statement that’s judgmental, it gives you the energy you need to stick with letting go of bad habits, persisting in a challenging situation, or breaking through a self-limiting belief or a limit you were born with.

“They’re like that, but I’m better than them,” the story goes. You feel proud of yourself, and that pride keeps you going. In that sense, it’s useful.

At the same time, being judgmental is not useful for helping people stuck in those circumstances—who don’t have enough reasons to feel proud yet—break out of them. Simply telling them, “Just stop doing that thing you’re doing!” or “Just start doing better!” isn’t going to work. “Can’t you be more like me?” is not useful to them.

If you really want to help them, they don’t need you to be judgmental of them. They need you to be curious, to ask questions, and to support them. Hold them to high expectations, be kind, and help them be the person you know they can be.

If you want to help yourself, you can also approach it with less judgment and more curiosity.

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Thanks for being a good friend. Thanks for being you.

Thanks for encouraging me with my writing, including reading the very rough first draft of Creative Doing. Thanks for writing your blog. 

Thanks for reading and sharing your ideas.

Thanks for asking thoughtful questions and listening.

Thanks for living your life so fully, for being an inspiration, for seeking mastery, and chasing your dreams in spite of all the setbacks. Your effort took you around the world, including the Olympics, and your career was starting to enter its crescendo. It pains me to think of what you would have accomplished if only you had more time. Thanks for helping Canada reach the Olympics stage.

Thanks for learning to be less hard on yourself, so the rest of us could learn.

Thanks for living in a way worth remembering. Thanks for sharing a piece of yourself with all of your friends. When the world feels a little less bright without your presence, I try to remember that you’re with us in spirit.

Thanks for the season of BIGS.

You’ll be missed, and very deeply remembered.

Your website is no longer around, so I wanted to share three of your blog posts in their entirety below:

Hello World.

Originally posted by Faiz Ahmed on December 28, 2020.

I don’t live a conventional life – I live in polarity. My strict morning routine lasts three hours. It consists of what I must get done. Calm mind, healthy body. Then I start my day. From this point on everything I do feels like play. This can be reading, film study, prompted reflection, imagining or simply getting bored. 

With this freedom. I explore the opposite. I ask questions of the unknown. I apply mental models across disciplines. I will make errors – we can examine them together. I love to change my mind and indulge in different perspectives. I hope my articles do the same for you.

In 2020, I have called four different cities home. In 2016 I took seven flights in six weeks to work with the elite players and coaches. This took me to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, St. Louis and Iowa. I’ll find the best wherever they are. This persistent pursuit is what led me to coach professional basketball overseas and build my professional clientele back home. 

My experience has been atypical. As I reflect through the recordings of my journal I recognized I needed a place to share my experiences, thoughts and the learnings that have resulted. That is this blog. Most success stories have the benefit of hindsight. Here, I will chronicle my thinking as it moulds. We’ll witness the failures and successes – but most important will be a glimpse into the process. Don’t be surprised to see different beliefs across time. Or even in the same article.

These days typically what’s on my mind is productivity, philosophy, pedagogy. I believe these three connect me back to my purpose – using passions to level up on the ‘Path of Mastery’.

I’d like this blog to be a conversation. Comments are encouraged. Thank you for reading and being a part of my journey.

A Letter to 19 Year Old Faiz

Originally posted by Faiz Ahmed on April 4, 2021.

Dear 19 Year Old Faiz,

Get up off the ground, wipe your eyes – he is right, you are not good enough. This isn’t for you. It hurts, I know. Years from now we’re going to do great things, all of which will stem from the scarring this pain will leave.

Nobody cares that you had a spot on the team until they got an unexpected transfer. Nobody cares that you were three weeks removed from being hospitalized from exhaustion. Nobody cares about the work you put in. The three-a-days on top of an active full time job. The 3:30AM alarms. Trying to find an extra 90 minutes by sleeping in your car in the gym parking lot on the nights you stayed until it closed and had to be the first one on the court when it opened.

You’re here wondering if you did enough. Believe me, you did more than enough. You’ll come to learn that. Because it is here that the foundation of your character was cemented.

19 Y/O Faiz raining it from 3. Does he make it? The fans already know.

You’ve been on your strength and agility program but struggled to stay in front of their new guard. You’ve been shooting 70%+% on your catch and shoot 3s in training. But it didn’t show today on-court. Why not? From this moment on your life will be a search to answer questions for what you could have done different, better? This journey is going to lead you to me, thirty-year-old Coach Faiz.

First, you’ll question your body. Were you enough of an athlete to be a basketball player? You’ll search for the best strength coaches of any sport to learn how you could have trained different. This is going to lead you to some of the best coaches from any sport in Canada. They are going to teach you how the body works, how to coach, and how to build an athlete over time. These will be some of the best classroom years of your life. Cherish them.

The understanding of the body, the athlete. This will serve as the basis for you to understand skill development differently. In turn, giving you an understanding for how to train for sport differently. Shortly after, you will find yourself translating Long Term Athlete Development from building an athlete to building a basketball player. You’ll spend time interning at Canada Basketball in Coaching Education. A fly on the wall soaking up everything you can. Your internship will end, but you’ll never leave. They don’t know this. Heck, you don’t know this yet either.

After learning from some of the best coaches in Canada you’ll continue your search to learn from the best. You’ll take eight separate flights in one single month during the summer of 2016. That entire summer will be spent in the gym. 8am to 8pm will be common, watching film during any break you have, keeping a secret that many nights you were unsure where you’d be sleeping. And you’ll learn player development from one of the best in the business. But, something will shift in you as you coach alongside him. He’ll trust you with some of his top guys. You’ll learn you can be among the best. That shift is essential. That summer, you’ll be in the gym with current and future stars of the NBA. You’ll get to watch Beal’s silent work ethic. How detail oriented Lavine gets when learning a skill. You’ll witness the emergence of Embiid and Tatum. See Clarkson and Galloway go at each other in competitive shooting drills. Feel what it’s like to defend a number one draft pick in Wiggins. Observe the focus of an NBA vet like David Lee. You’ll work with pros. You’ll teach G League players how to prepare for the NBA. Here you’ll learn how specific attention to the little details matter, how to build a player for the body they have and the importance of training decision making. Rewind a couple years and this information would have changed the player you were. Fast forward a couple years, and you’ll be applying this with pros of your own.

And a crazy thing will happen, not just here, but throughout your journey. Idols will become friends. NBA Vets, Rising Stars, Olympians past, present and future. By the end of that summer you’ll be hanging around $200+ million of new NBA money. You’ll witness the glamour of it all. The money, the celebrity, and the power. It could be enough to change the meaning of the game for anyone. You’ll head home. But you’ll stop in Iowa on your way for two weeks of camp. You’ll coach a group of young girls and ‘together on three’ your confidence will grow. A few weeks away from potentially becoming a corporate-corrupted soul, you’ll have a mom chase after you in a gym to tell you her daughter had been planning to quit basketball. But she called home the night before and said she had the best coach, loves basketball again, and wants to continue. You’ll turn, run, and get caught crying in a storage closet by one of the best coaches in the world. It’ll cleanse your soul. You’ll be ready to come home and grow the game on local soil.

You’ll bring all this knowledge home. Alongside one of your best friends, you will build one of the best high school programs in Canada. During this time you’ll work with some of the top talent in Canada and be a small part of their bright futures. In fact, right now there are 18 players from your high school teams currently playing NCAA. But it’s not all fun times. You’ll watch kids get cut. For some reason it’s always the kids on the outskirts that you will be drawn towards. Or the ones with the stupid hard work ethic. These kids will come to you for guidance. In a span of four years, six kids that got cut from the National Team come to you. Trust you. And one year later, they’ll make it.

A pattern will emerge of unraveling why you couldn’t make it. You’ll start asking the questions, finding the answers. Then finding an up and coming player who can put the knowledge to use.

Another pattern will emerge as well. Each year, after the season ends you’ll wonder if that was it. If you’ll ever coach again. Are you good enough for this? Are you willing to continue the sacrifice it takes to stay on the path of your dreams? When will it all align? You won’t see the next opportunity, one that will allow you to keep this going. 

Coaching pro basketball means quick decisions in the heat of battle.

Finally, when you are truly clueless about where to go next, you’ll get offered your first Full-Time coaching job. Here you will coach and live with young athletes who are on the verge of stardom. It will all be coming together and becoming real. You’ll see the path to making this your future and stop having to ask whether basketball can remain in your life.

Then, one day, you’ll wake up in an ambulance, hooked up to all types of machines, making all types of noises. Too much to even register. And the question will move from if you’ll coach next year to if you’ll ever coach again.

The doctors will see something, something that needs to be removed. You’re headed for brain surgery. They’ll discuss the risks involved. Honestly, I don’t remember what they were because when they said there was a 10% chance you might lose your ability to move your left arm. All I thought was that I might never shoot a basketball again. And at that point, nothing else mattered. 

In the next few weeks there will be a bunch of scary words thrown around. Don’t worry, with time you will learn to accept them. They will become a part of you, of your story, of your soul. And there is nothing scary about that.

The surgery was a success. Being tested in the operating room for function of your limbs, the form still looked good. But it wasn’t just the jump shot that remained. Many people assumed that the Faiz they knew would be no more. But through all this you preserved the spirit of a Warrior. Perseverance, perspective and a dedication to challenging yourself to go beyond – skills fostered through sport, were all called upon. 

In the Operating room testing function.

‘Lift your left arm’.

*Shoots a jumper*

‘How does my form look Doc?’

Post-surgery, as you pumped your chest down the hall proclaiming, “I’m a fucking beast!” to everyone you passed (they needed to know). You began your process of healing. The surgeon said it would be a minimum of six months. You were back to your team within the month. No one can ever tell you that you don’t have love for this game.

It hurt to get cut. To be told you’re not good enough. But without that, would all of this have been possible? Trust that this worked out for the best, because it did.

Now sit down for a moment and let me tell you what is most important. I’ve come to learn that your greatest superpower lies right beside your greatest wound. It’s kind of crazy to look back at everything we’ve been through, but I have to admit that this moment here is the deepest pain. Your dream of playing may be cut here. But your superpower is to ignite love for basketball, and help players to rediscover it. Match that with your ability to put them on the path to Mastery. And watch a generation of athletes achieve their dreams.

And they do care. They care when they see how much work you put into this, even though you try to hide it from them. They care when they see how much extra you are willing to invest in them, even though you see it as the least you could do. And they care for you when they see you care for them as a whole person, even though you couldn’t picture coaching any other way. So continue to care in everything you do and for everyone life brings your way.

MadLove,

30-year-old Faiz

Daring Magnificent Brave

Originally posted by Faiz Ahmed on September 22, 2021.

Reader,

This is not for you. It is for someone I know struggling right now. Struggling to grasp, onto something. Anything. But you, the reader. I hope you remember these words. When life feels like a Slip N’ Slide. And you feel yourself

Falling,

Falling.

Falling… with nothing to hold on to.

Because that moment will come. It does for everyone. Often. When you least anticipate.

And too commonly, when you believe you have laid the last brick of your safe castle.

It happens to everyone, at any moment.

And this is what I need. You, whom this letter is for. To understand right now. What you are feeling is universally felt. To different degrees, for different lengths. And in response to different triggers.

You may feel alone. But in what you feel – you are not alone.

And you have every reason to feel alone.

Those meant to support you, and keep you safe. Turned into the living danger you face.

Those now relying on your support, adding weight to already heavy shoulders.

Those dreams of your future. The potential antidote to your past. Dreams that were ripped away. Unfairly. Dreams you are attempting to resuscitate. Dreams so big, so scary.

But you are not alone. Few weeks have passed since we, your friends and I got together to celebrate you. You, for what you accomplished.

And what was repeated constantly. Was not only your most recent milestone. But a celebration of your repeated bravery to share your gifts with the world.

So, on behalf of those that love you. I have a request.

Be selfish.

For us.

It is the most selfless thing you can do.

Timeline is one framework used for contrasting depression and anxiety. Depression lives in the past. Anxiety lives in the future. Both are felt in the present. Because now is all we have.

I imagine you are bouncing back and forth between the two. As you plot a future to slay the demons still lurking from your past. While keeping serious obligations in mind.  

I don’t blame you for it. No one does. Okay maybe just one, maybe just you.

Take ten seconds to breathe. Ten minutes to meditate. Ten hours to sprawl out with your journal. Whatever you need.

And in that time, I hope you come back to a truth you know all too well. That nothing truly exists. Except,

Here and now.

Here and now.

Is all we have – this moment.

And when you come back to that foundational truth.

I think you’ll find the foundation that you have been searching for.

A foundation for a house with a guest room. So your demons can visit. But not stay.

A foundation to keep your family safe.

A foundation you can build your dreams on.

So go on. Break another barrier.

For you. For whom this letter is for. Go on, be selfish. Take care of yourself. Embody the strong body, mind and spirit we know to be you. Protect those around you by being an example of how to protect yourself.

Be creative, be courageous. And give us; the fans of you. A reason to keep the celebrations going.

Lastly. When you are ready, pick up the phone. No rush. No timelines. Just a pulse.

And to the readers that made it this far. I appreciate you. Know that I am here for you too.

Love,

Faiz Ahmed

Some more great posts:

• Let Go of Your Goals
• Separate Yourself
• Let’s Talk Communication
• Plan Your Ideal Day
• BIGS – My Most Reliable Productivity Tool

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